‘You are dark and not a good match…’: Bengaluru techie woman, found dead at home, was humiliated over skin tone

Apart from dowry harassment, the woman was allegedly humiliated for her dark skin.

On Tuesday night, the 27-year-old woman was found dead at her residence in Suddaguntepalya in south Bengaluru.

Shilpa’s mother, Sharada, had lodged a complaint alleging harassment for dowry.

She was also allegedly subjected to humiliating remarks regarding her skin tone.

“You are dark and not a good match for my son. Leave him, we will find him a better bride,” the mother-in-law allegedly said, reported NDTV.

Shilpa’s uncle, Channabasayya, has alleged that the circumstances surrounding her death pointed to “murder” rather than suicide.

“She has been married to him for three years. They have one son, and she was also pregnant. They had a quarrel, which we resolved, and we sent her back four months ago after meeting his family. If he didn’t want to be with her, he could have just sent her back. Yesterday, he left home saying he was going out of town, and then we got information that she had died by suicide. But there was no stool below the fan, and she could not even reach the fan. It seems like he murdered her and escaped,” Channabasayya alleged.

“We sold our house in Hubballi worth ₹40 lakh to get her married. Recently, we paid another ₹10 lakh through money we had in chit funds. He told us he was an engineer, but now he sells panipuri. He lied to our family,” he added.

Police arrest Shilpa’s husband

Meanwhile, Shilpa’s husband Praveen, who quit his software job to sell panipuri, was arrested for allegedly driving her to suicide.

Shilpa married Praveen on December 5, 2022. The couple has a one-and-a-half-year-old son.

Her family claimed they spent around ₹35 lakh on the wedding and gave 150 grams of gold to the groom.

After marriage, the couple lived in BTM Layout. Praveen, earlier employed with Oracle in Whitefield, had left his job and started a panipuri business.

Praveen and his mother, Shantavva, harassed Shilpa mentally and physically for money, demanding ₹5 lakh for his business. When the demand was not met, she was allegedly assaulted and sent back to her parents, the complaint alleged.

Sharada also said she eventually raised the money and sent her daughter back, but the harassment continued. Four months ago, a quarrel reportedly broke out during discussions about Shilpa’s baby shower.

On August 26, the family was informed that Shilpa had died by suicide. When they reached her house, they found her lifeless on the bed, covered with a sheet.

Further probe is underway into the matter.